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by Andrew Marszal, with Maggy Donaldson in New York Bill Withers, the legendary performer who delivered timeless hits like “Ain’t No Sunshine” with silky yet funkified vocals and came to define 1970s soul, has died. He was 81 years old. The Grammy-winning artist behind the beloved “Lean on Me” succumbed to heart complications, according to his family, which said it was “devastated” over the loss. “A solitary man with a heart driven to connect to […]
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Disney delayed the releases of more than a dozen major films Friday, but has not given up on a summer blockbuster with “Mulan” now penciled in for a July launch despite the coronavirus pandemic. The revised schedule confirmed eagerly awaited Marvel movies “Black Widow” and “The Eternals,” as well as the latest “Thor” and “Doctor Strange” sequels, have all been pushed back as the virus shutters theaters around the […]
MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced Saturday the extension of the country’s lockdown until April 25 in order to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. “The cabinet on Tuesday will again ask for authorization from parliament to extend for a second time the state of alert until Saturday April 25 at midnight,’ Sanchez said in a televised speech. “With the utmost caution, we believe that this is the time that […]
by Miguel MEDINA Agence France Presse VARESE, Italy (AFP) — The shiny new robots gently check the pulses of highly infectious patients on life support in the Italian epicentre of COVID-19. The doctors and nurses love them because they also help save their own lives. Italians have seen the world around them turn unrecognisable from the various lockdowns and social distancing measures used to fight the new coronavirus outbreak. But little appears to have […]
CAIRO, Egypt (AFP) — Egypt’s main cancer institute has confirmed 15 cases of the novel coronavirus among its medical staff, the facility’s chief said Saturday, sparking fears of exposure among vulnerable patients. “Three doctors and 12 nurses were infected by the virus,” Hatem Abulkassem, the director of Cairo’s National Cancer Institute, told a private Egyptian TV channel, adding that the 15 had been isolated. The facility will be sterilised over three days and patients […]
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AFP) — South Africa on Friday announced two more coronavirus deaths and 43 new confirmed cases, bringing to tally in Africa’s worst-affected country up to 1,505 infections and seven deaths. Health Minister Zweli Mkhize, who released the latest figures, said the figure was likely to be underestimated due to testing limits. “I want to raise the point that this number is affected by… the limitations of the active testing that […]
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Queen Elizabeth II will make a rare special broadcast this weekend to Britain and the Commonwealth on the coronavirus pandemic, Buckingham Palace said on Friday. “The televised address will be broadcast at 8pm (1900 GMT) on Sunday 5th April, 2020. The address was recorded at Windsor Castle,” a statement said. The queen, 93, has made only three other special addresses during national crises in her 68-year reign and comes […]
by Alice RITCHIE / Phil HAZLEWOOD Agence France Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain on Friday opened a new 4,000-bed temporary hospital to treat the most seriously ill coronavirus patients, as day-on-day deaths surged to a new record and royal officials said Queen Elizabeth II would make a rare crisis address to the nation. Heir to the throne Prince Charles opened the state-run National Health Service (NHS) Nightingale Hospital, which has been built […]
by Pierre DONADIEU Agence France Presse As the world battles the coronavirus pandemic, the main question for most is simply: “When will it end?”. But other, troubling questions are starting to be asked of governments. Why did Western governments not predict the risk of an epidemic in their territories after the novel coronavirus first emerged in China? Were sufficient preparations made to secure masks and test kits? Did lockdowns to slow the spread of […]
BLANTYRE, Malawi (AFP) — Malawi on Thursday announced its first three coronavirus infections, one of the last African countries to report the potentially deadly disease. The southern African country was one of the few without any confirmed cases along with the Comoros, Lesotho, Sao Tome, and Principe and South Sudan. President Peter Mutharika said the infections were in the capital Lilongwe. The first was detected in an elderly woman who had recently traveled to India […]
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — New York mayor Bill de Blasio on Thursday urged all of the city’s residents to cover their faces when outside and near others to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. “Let’s be clear. This is a face covering. It could be a scarf. It could be something you create at home. It could be a bandana,” de Blasio told reporters. “It doesn’t need to be a professional surgical […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he has taken his second coronavirus test at the White House since the outbreak began and it was again found to be negative. “I just took it this morning,” he told a news conference. “It said the president tested negative for COVID-19.” This was Trump’s second test. This time he used a new rapid method that he said took a minute to complete and […]
